Torah Portion

Jewry's Role in

Human Affairs

SUPERSTARS OF THEIR DAY

Walk In God's Ways With
Compassion And Kindness

celebration in the beauty of nature.
Pesach symbolizes God's redemption of
our people from Egypt in an act of love
and promise for the future.
On both of these holidays, we revel in.
the unique traditions of our people and
the close relationship with our creator
and deliverer that the covenant offers.
n the Torah reading for Shabbat
But, covenant assumes not only
Hol HaMoed Pesach,
promise and relationship but
we read the story of
obligation and responsibility
Moses' return to Mt.
as well. We might be tempted
Sinai to bring back a second set
in the midst of the celebra-
of tablets.
tions of closeness to forget our
Moses had broken the first
responsibilities. The reading of
set as a response to the people's
the Torahthat focuses on
worship of the golden calf. As
God's qualities should remind
he receives the tablets, Moses
us that observance of the holi-
addresses God with what have
days must come in context of
become known as the 13 attrib-
RABBI ROBERT our commitment to mirror
utes (mentioned prominently
those qualities every day of
DOBRUSIN
in "Echad Mi Yodeah"). These
the year.
Special to the
begin: "God, God, gracious and
A text from the talmudic
Jewish News
compassionate, patient and
tractate of Sotah takes this idea
abundant in kindness."
one step further. It surmises
The Sifre, the Midrash on
that God's attributes go beyond charac-
Deuteronomy, comments on the Torah's
teristics in that they are reflected in God's
statement that we are to walk in God's
actions as described in the Torah.
ways (Deuteronomy 11:22) as referring to
God is not only merciful but God
these 13 attributes of God. The Midrash
clothes the naked (Adam and Eve), visits
says that if we wish to walk in God's
the sick, (when he appeared to Abraham
ways, we too must be gracious and com-
recovering from his brit milah) and
passionate, patient, abounding in kind-
buries the dead (Moses). Thus, when we
ness. This is a succinct and straightfor-
seek to "follow God" (Deuteronomy
ward statement about our responsibility
13:5), we must not only reflect God's
as human beings: to mirror the attributes
characteristic qualities in principle but we
of God in our own lives.
must reflect them in our daily lives by
We read this section now and on
clothing the naked, visiting the sick,
Shabbat Chol HaMoed Sukkot. On both
attending to the dead and comforting the
occasions, as we observe Shabbat in the
bereaved.
midst of the festival, we are reminded by
Chol HaMoed, the intermediate days
this reading both of the sin of our ances-
of the festivals, are unusual times in
tors, whose celebration with the golden
Jewish life. We know we are still celebrat-
calf necessitated God's forgiveness and
ing a holiday as we eat meals in the
also we are reminded of our responsibili-
Sukkah or eat special foods for Pesach.
ty to have our Judaism reflected in our
But, most of us continue our work or
daily life through our actions reflecting
school responsibilities during these days.
the divine within each of us.
Thus, Chol HaMoed provides a per-
Why would this section of the Torah
fect object lesson to teach us that it is how
be read on this day? Perhaps the message
we reflect our connection with God in
is meant to supplement the philosophical
our daily lives that truly matters most. ❑
messages of the festivals.
On both Pesach and Sukkot, we cele-
brate the closeness of our relationship
with God. Sukkot symbolizes God's pro-
Is there a danger to the tradition's
tection of our people in the desert and
encouraging
us to emulate God?
the eight days of the festival are days of
Which attribute of God is most
important for us to emulate? How
Robert Dobrusin is rabbi of Ann
can
we make the most of the
Arbor's Beth Israel Congregation. His e-
intermediate
days of the festivals?
mail address is

Shabbat Cholol HaMoed
Pesach: Exodus 33:12-
34:26; Numbers 28:19-
25; Ezekiel 37:1-14.

I

Conversations

rdobrusin@bethisrael-aa.org

07.M.41'

Stage entertainment earlier this century was headed by many Jewish
graduates from vaudeville who succeeded in making the transition to other
popular media--the films, radio and TV--and have become almost
legendary.
Among them were Sophie Tucker (1884-1966), the "Last of the
Red Hot Mamas," whose belting and raunchy songs took her from a small
New York cafe in 1906 to a command performance before English royalty
in 1934. The multi-talented Fanny Brice (1891-1951) left the Ziegfield
Follies, won millions of radio listeners as the inimitable Baby Snooks, and
appeared in six films. The 1968 hit motion picture, Funny Girl, starring
Barbra Streisand, was based on her life.
The reigning "Toastmaster General of the United States," as
George Jessel (1898-1981) was called, dazzled Broadway and Hollywood
as a comedic actor and producer of hit musicals. During a seventy year
career, he also gained fame chairing fund raising events which netted
enormous donations for worthy causes. Others shared the footlights and
made theatrical history:

AL JOLSON
(1886-1950) b. Srednike, Russia He was Mr.
Showbiz himself, dominating vaudeville and
musical theater for three decades. The aspiring
singer arrived in the U.S. at age seven and in 1909
joined his brothers touring with a minstrel
company. Jolson also performed in circuses and
burlesque theater, and perfected his solo
trademark: an Afro-American singing style while
in blackface--"Swanee" (by George Gershwin) and "My Mammy" have
remained his signature songs. In 1911, he catapulted to Broadway stardom
in La Belle Paree which sealed his huge popularity in future musicals and
radio performances.
Filmdom immortality came to Jolson in 1927. The Jazz Singer, in
which he played a cantor's son (as he had been in real life), was the first full-
length American feature film that synchronized music and sound: a
revolutionary motion picture that ended the era of silent cinema. While
appearing in dozens of stage shows and movies, he put time to charitable
works, and equally split $4-million in his will among Jewish, Catholic and
Protestant charities. Jolson was also awarded our nation's coveted Medal of
Merit after his death.

EDDIE CANTOR
(1892-1964) b. New York City Born on the
Lower East Side, Isidor iskowitch was orphaned
at age two and was reared by his grandmother.
Before assuming his stage name, the kindly and
gentle performer took to the streets where he sang
and irrepressibly clowned for pennies and
nickels. After winning an amateur music hall
contest in 1907, Cantor toured with a burlesque
show and later took the job of a singing waiter in a Coney Island saloon,
accompanied by an upcoming young pianist/comedian: Jimmy Durante, who
he befriended for life.
As years followed, he played the vaudeville circuit, the Ziegfiehl
Follies, and set all-time records on tours with European and American
variety shows. Often in blackface, Cantor booked with many song-and-
dance reviews including the box office favorites Make if Snappy (1922), Kid
Boots (1923) and Banjo Eyes (1941)--titled after his nickname. His career
further soared on screen and radio, first in 1931 before the enthusiastic
national audience of The Chase and Sanborn Hour, and during eighteen
subsequent years on NBC and CBS. A founder of the Screen Actors' Guild,
Cantor was also a generous philanthropist cited for his services to the
country by President Lyndon Johnson.
- Saul Stacitmauer

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